About

I was born and raised in Spartanburg, South Carolina. I went to the College of Charleston (BA Philosophy) and then the University of Sussex (MA Political and Social Thought).

All my life I have been a fan of Duke football and basketball and the Atlanta Braves. Growing up watching Wofford College football I'm a huge fan of the wishbone offense and other historical relics. I prefer college sports to the pros.

In college, I learned to love rugby, which I played because it was easier than starting a Fight Club. In international rugby I follow South Africa and Wales, while in the Super 15 I support the Stormers.

During college I also discovered the EPL and now I have the misfortune of being a fan of a forever rebuilding Liverpool.

Bulletin Board

Dantzler, I really liked your article re Jabari Parker as a detriment to Duke, especially the conclusion, because for years I've believed that recruiting one-and-done's is a mistake for the exact reasons you detailed: good players don't get the time to become great, while the great player doesn't have the experience or the advantage of playing with other experienced players to lead the team to success. Coach K has padded his NBA alumni stats, but done surprisingly little for Duke vis a vis post 1992 Final Four appearances. And when did we really succeed after that? In 2001 we had experience, and in 2010, K was basically forced to let Zoubek reach his potential, which along with the cast of experienced teammates is the very reason Duke became so good that year despite having no superstars.

So my advice to Coach K and really all coaches is to *not* recruit 1&dunz, but to go for players with the potential to be great.

And my advice to the NCAA is to put commitment back into the word commitment. Trash the 1-year NBA wait, and make high school players decide if they want to try their luck in the NBA draft or COMMIT (as in "commitment"!) to a minimum of 3 years of university. Also, NBA failures should be allowed to commit to university as well, with a reasonable age limit. Consider them transfers, with possibly limited time left to play in the NCAA, but still committed to at least 3 years of studies.

Finally, there should be a way to prevent cases like Luol Deng, who left because his family was in financial distress. The NCAA and NBA should have a joint fund that gives out special awards in such cases, so that NBA-ready college athletes can complete their studies without feeling they are harming their families.

This fund could also be used to purchase special insurance for NBA-ready athletes who want a college degree but fear injury in college could cost them what money (salary and pension) they would have earned even in an injury-shortened NBA career. The NBA would decide which players are entitled to such insurance, and what percentage of the maximum insurable amount those entitled would receive if they suffer a career-ending injury.

Thanks for the comment and I've enjoyed reading your articles about Duke. Very cool that you live in Cape Town - my wife and I spent 3 months in South Africa a couple years ago and our time in Cape Town was amazing.

Haha thanks man. Yeah, I'm in the process of becoming a featured columnist for the Leafs, despite the fact that there's probably not going to be a season. Frustrating to have the sport you love and your favorite sports team of all time not play 2 in 8 years. Hopefully they will get back soon.

Great having you aboard at BR man, I thoroughly enjoy your articles on the Blue Devils man. Always well thought out and bring things to the forefront that I hadn't been thinking of. Look forward to more articles this season!